Love-Heart Cupcakes

Ingredients
7.7 oz unsalted butter, softened
2 cups, firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3.5 oz dark chocolate, melted, cooled
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
7.oz plain flour
Pure icing sugar, sifted, to dust
17.5 oz packet ready-made icing
2 packets love-heart lollies*
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the patty pan with paper cases. Place butter and sugar in an electric mixer and beat for about 5 minutes until soft. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and chocolate, stirring in gently (don't over-beat at this stage). Add bicarbonate soda to the flour, then sift into mixture, alternating with 1 cup boiling water. Stir until smooth and just combined.
Fill the paper cases to three-quarters full. Bake for 30 minutes or until risen. Remove and allow to cool.
Dust the workbench with the icing sugar, then roll out icing until 2mm thick. Use a fluted pastry cutter to cut out circles the same size as the top of the cakes. Sit one on top of each cake, moulding to its shape. Press a lolly into the top of each cake.